Hoon knocked on the house with a door the color of a cantaloupe. What welcomed him was a pale, little figure, gesturing him not to enter just yet.
The man bent his knee to reach the little girl. "And what crime did I do this time, huh?" He asked with a small smile, finding the curious girl stroking the patch from where his blind eye was sewn.
"Where is your brother, my lady?"
"Sunoo is writing upstairs. Where is my lilac so I could tell him to come down and meet you?" The clever child dared to ask. Gods. Hoon forgot about the lilac, in truth. So, instead, he turned his back and grabbed a white rose from a bouquet he was meant to give to Sunoo, then turned back, grabbing the girl's hand and placing the bud on her palm. "Lilacs don't grow on spring, silly." He lied.
And so, with a smile, Sunoo's sister called him. The huntsman stayed at the doorway, taking a deep breath, then placing his hands at his back. The courtship continued from then on.
The mountain was filled with grasslands, sheltered by rich salmon daffodils. He had finished building a small tent for his little one's lounge as he was learning to draw on a cloth canvas. He sat there, overlooking the Sea of Krakens as the boy sat beside him, joyfully showing him a childlike landscape of the grasslands.
He ruffled his hair, then erased the paint off his healthy cheek with his thumb. "That is a great spring, my boy." The child happily nodded, leisurely kicking his feet.
Later on, a voice called for them from their small house. "Won! Little Wonnie! Home in an instant! Supper is ready!"
And so they headed back to their house, hand in hand. Sawbones delightfully planted a kiss on their son's forehead as he headed inside.
"Oh, Won." She said, cupping her husband's face. "Six years have passed. And he still looks like you." She frowned in a childish way, causing him to chuckle, placing her stray hair at the back of her ear. "But that boy is clever and smart. Just like you, Hanan."
Her name was Hanan.
"Feet light." The princess shouted to a lordling training at the yard. "Don't stiffen. Get a hold of your sword."
Yeji decided to stroll on the halls that morning. The people in the court would bow in honor upon meeting her that even just the way she kept her hands at her back almost intimidated them. She kept her head high, and never thought about putting it down anymore.
"My princess." The lord of accounts greeted as he met her in the Witherhall garden. "My lord." She returned the greeting. "Call on the King's council. Tell them His Grace's right hand demands a meeting for the expansion of the lands. I will get back to the hall in a short while." And so the lord of accounts bowed, following the orders.
The winds were crisp and strong, tousling the dead maple leaves. The garden smelled of buds and morning dew by then. And so, spring was kind enough to unbind the emerald green ribbon from her hair, causing it to fling in the air, away from her reach. Before she knew it, the ribbon landed on someone's arm.
"May I, my love?"
Heeseung followed her at the wallflowers, delicately grasping her long, coal black waves. He then tied the ribbon back to its place, then cupping his wife's face.
Yeji held onto his wrists, then placing her lips on his longingly. Never wanting to let go.
Riki made sure to let out a deep breath before exiting the royal carriage. He could feel his hands tremble ever so slightly, so he did good to clench his fists. He then opened the door, welcomed by the sight of the town below the palace. He promised he'd come back. The people loved him. That's what he had been trying to make himself believe. Even without dressing as a commoner.
He headed to the small hall where the elders taught their children to read and write. He was welcomed by those little musty arms. Not that it mattered if their hands stained his coat. He was happy to see them. Happy, that he began squeezing them into his embrace.
Eventually, the small hall was rebuilt to become an official establishment for his subjects' education.
The lands in Witherhall was then expanded and flourished, with crops that could sustain each mouth in the realm until the next spring. His clan headed to a mountain where the tower of leisure would be built. Thorough reckoning would come to a conclusion that the tower will finally be sheltered next year. It was good to be King.
Nights made him remember Eru. Adi, even. He never came to watch her execution six years ago. Not that he wanted to. He still had her hair. He made sure to secure just a small part of her before her body was brought back to Evenfall, buried under the willow tree. Of course he loved her, Eru or Adi she was. Oh, how he wished he would see her, even just a glimpse of her. He tried looking for her in the midst of the crowds. Even in nights there was no way he couldn't be alone. But it happened. When no one was around, it was only then he could surrender to the thought that not even a hundred Witherhall's can bring her back.
That night, looking at the cluster of stars, he decided the town awaited him outside. So, he stood, grabbing his royal cloak.
It was good to be King.
